Actor Govinda has long claimed that he was Academy Award-winning director James Cameron’s first choice for playing the lead role in his record-breaking sci-fi film Avatar. Now, the actor has revealed the supposed sum he would have pocketed had he accepted the role.
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In a recent interview with Mukesh Khanna, he disclosed that he was allegedly offered a hefty amount of Rs 18 crore for the film but turned it down because the main character was physically disabled. The actor also doubled down on a claim that he had made back in 2019 – he was the one who suggested the name for the film. Govinda said: “I had met a Sardarji in America and gave him a business idea that worked; some years later, he made me meet James Cameron. He asked me to do a film with James, so I invited them for dinner to discuss it. I have given the film’s title – Avatar. James told me the hero in the film was handicapped, so I said I am not doing the film. He offered me Rs 18 crore for it and said I would be required to shoot for 410 days.”
Govinda further stated he would be unwilling to have his body painted for the role as it would lead him to be hospitalised. However, the Na’vi portrayed in Avatar was brought to life through CGI and special effects.
What did filmmaker Pahlaj Nihalani say about Govinda’s claims?
In a 2024 interview with Friday Talkies, Pahlaj Nihalani, who helmed Govinda’s film debut Ilzaam, refuted the actor's claims, stating that Govinda got the Hollywood blockbuster mixed up with a Hindi film named Avatar that Nihalani was directing in 2012 but later called quits on.
“I had made a film called Avatar with him. I had filmed 40 minutes of it, which I consider one of my best films, but it got canned. Woh Avatar title se pata nahi uske dimaag mein kya aaya, baad mein claim karta raha ki main waha (Hollywood) ki Avatar kar raha hoon. Uske dimaag ka disc ghum gaya aur language Hindi se English mein chala gaya (Due to the same title I don't know what went wrong in his mind and he kept claiming that he was doing Hollywood's Avatar. The disc of his brain spun over and he went from Hindi to English),” he said.
Nihalani further mentioned that one reason the film never materialised was due to Govinda constantly fainting on set and making excuses that led the delayed the filming schedule.
In addition to Ilzaam Govinda and Nihalani worked together on films like Shola Aur Shabnam (1992) and Aankhen (1993). Their most recent collaboration came in the 2019 comedy film Rangeela Raja.
